Jack & Kate: Anthology
by FlutieCutie
Summary: The playlist of Jack and Kate. A collection of one-shots inspired by songs that fit our favorite couple.
1. Daylight

A little hello from the author: Hello. Hope the day is treating you all well =) I got the idea for this a couple months ago. I was listening to my iPod and there were parts of a lot of songs that were striking me as "This is so Jate." So then I got the inspiration to try and write some pieces based on those songs. Some of them come from one or two lines, a chorus, and some are from almost the entire song. These are all one-shots, but they're all related. Meaning, they're different points in time and they're not necessarily chronological, but they all deal with the same timeline and characters. Some are happy, some sad, some on the island, some off, some very AU, some only a little, and some will be a lot longer or shorter than others. Now that I've gone on about this for way too long, let's move on, huh? Let me know what you think. Without any further ado, I give you _Jack & Kate: Anthology_.

_Here I am staring at your perfection in my arms, so beautiful_

_The sky is getting back, the stars are burning out, somebody slow it down_

_This is way too hard cause I know when the sun comes up, I will leave_

_This is my last glance that will soon be memory_

"_**Daylight" - Maroon 5**_

Perfect. Even with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, sweat and tears on her face, and days' worth of dirt all over, she was still the epitome of perfection to him. He had always thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever been lucky enough to see. It made him wonder sometimes how she had ever chosen him at all. He was such a mess, but she had decided somehow that he was worth her time and love. And like everything else that was ever good for him, he found a way to screw it all up.

Another firm shake of the island drew him from his thoughts and back to the reality in front of him. He was dying, he knew that. He had already told them all what he was going to do and that they needed to get to safety. He had told her to get on the plane and leave this place, leave _him_, behind. Forever.

Telling her to leave him was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. His head was saying that it was the right thing, and he knew it was, but his heart was screaming at him to be selfish, to go with her and let this place crumble and waste away. But for once, he was doing what was best for _her_ and not what was best for _him_. He owed her that much after everything he had put her through in the past few years.

"Kate, you've gotta go," he said as confidently as he could manage, "Get Claire on that plane."

They stared at each other for a few moments, trying to communicate every thought and emotion running through their minds. Everything they never said and wished they had, every plea to stay together.

"Tell me I'm gonna see you again," she begged.

He could hear the desperation in her trembling voice. He wanted nothing more than to change his mind right then and there just to make her happy, but he knew that no matter what he did he wasn't going to make it much longer. He had decided if he was going to die, it was going to be making sure she got to safety and never had to come back here again. He couldn't promise her anything but his heart, but he couldn't bring himself to physically tell her no. So he ever so slightly shook his head instead, never taking his eyes off of her. This was the last time he would ever see her and he was going to soak her in as much as he possibly could before they both had to leave for different destinies.

Before either could say anything else, their lips collided in what they knew would be their last kiss. This moment, this perfect moment in a sea of chaos, would soon be just a memory for both of them and they were determined to make it last as long as they could. They memorized they way each other smelled, tasted, felt. They needed this moment to last a lifetime.

It nearly brought him to his knees when she choked out, "I love you."

Somehow hearing those words come from her mouth made the barbaric pain in his side disappear. She still loved him. After everything, she still cared for him the same as he did for her. The words meant more to him than she could ever know. Which made this even harder for him than it already was. He needed to leave, soon, but he wasn't going anywhere without making sure she knew how he still felt, how he had always felt.

"_I _love _you_," he replied, feeling a small tear roll down his cheek. She was crying now and not trying to hide it anymore. He knew if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave. So he gave her one last lingering look that he hoped told her just how much he really cared about her, and how deeply sorry he was for _everything_, and walked away for the last time.


	2. Enchanted

_Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"_

_Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me_

_The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks_

_Like passing notes in secrecy_

"_**Enchanted" - Taylor Swift**_

Kate looked around at the thinning crowd under the large tent. The benefit concert Desmond dragged her to had ended about fifteen minutes ago and she was waiting. She wasn't quite sure what for, but she waited nonetheless. She was feeling overwhelmed from remembering who she really was and where she must be now, and at the same time there was relief. Now she knew her friends were all okay. She had seen them all, most of them, and knew now that Desmond was trying to reunite their family.

There was one person, however, that she hadn't seen yet. What made her heart ache was that it was the one person she wanted to see the most, who she had been waiting to see ever since the second they'd said their last goodbyes. Throughout the concert she'd been sitting next to his son; their son. Theirs, but he didn't know it. Not yet. It had taken everything in her not to reach out and hold her boy as close as she could. David didn't know her here because he wasn't supposed to follow them where they were going later on, not for a long while. Kate hoped it would be quite some time before she saw her kids in this universe.

Kate looked up from the spot on the table she'd been staring at for the past five minutes and froze when she saw a familiar face across the lawn. The moment she had been praying for finally came. She had been missing him for sixty years.

It was Jack.

Slowly, as if she would startle him away if she moved too quickly, she stood and made her way over to him. He was dialing his phone and searching for someone, probably David. He looked just like she remembered; strong, responsible, handsome.

"It's over," she said.

He looked up at her, surprised. "Excuse me?"

Kate tried to hide the smile making its way onto her face at the sound of his voice. "The concert," she told him, "It's over. You looking for someone?"

"Yeah," he answered, "My son. I was supposed to bring him here tonight and then I couldn't come, and..."

She smiled warmly at him and felt her heart flutter when he laughed. She hadn't heard that laugh in far too long. She just wished he would hurry up and remember her already. One look at him told her he was close. His eyes got a glint in them; he recognized her, she knew he did, but he couldn't place it. He always was too damn stubborn for his own good.

"I'm sorry, where do I know you from?" he asked, shoving a hand into his pocket.

Kate knew she couldn't tell him the truth; this was something he needed to figure out on his own, even if it pained her that he was taking so long. So she went with what he thought would make sense. "I stole your pen."

"What?"

She grinned at the look of confusion on his face. "Oceanic 815 from Sydney? I bumped into you coming out of the bathroom and I stole your pen."

Jack shook his head slightly. "And that's how I know you?" he asked.

Kate looked into his eyes and willed him to come to his senses. She wanted her Jack back so badly it hurt. "No," she said quietly, "That's not how you know me."

Unable to bear the space between them any longer, she took the last few steps toward him and gently took his face in her hands. He tensed slightly and closed his eyes. He had seen something, a flash like she'd experienced with Claire.

"I've missed you _so much_," she could barely contain the emotion in her voice.

He had another flash, she could tell, but he shook his head slightly and backed away.

"Are you okay?" She never took her eyes off of him.

He looked so confused. "What his happening to me?" he asked, almost to himself, "Who _are_ you? I don't..."

"I know you don't understand, Jack," she was close to tears now, "but it you come with me, you will."

He stared at her for a long moment. He _knew_ her. He _remembered_ her from somewhere, not from her pick-pocketing a pen, he knew it. Something was drawing him to her, like some sort of invisible tether. He felt something deep inside him pulling at his heart, telling him to go with her. It was insane to go with her, he didn't even know her, but something in his head was screaming at him to follow her wherever she went. Suddenly, this beautiful woman standing in front of him was all he could think about. Ignoring every thought about how crazy this was, he nodded at her and motioned for her to lead the way.

Kate smiled warmly and jerked her head toward the parking lot and turned, Jack close behind. The walk to the car and the subsequent ride was completely silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Kate was savoring every second with Jack by her side; she had been without him for so long that simply knowing he was there was enough. For now.

Jack couldn't stop staring at her the entire ride to wherever it was they were going. He didn't know why, but he was completely mesmerized by her and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look away. He had been wracking his brain to figure out just why it was he recognized her. He felt like she probably knew him better than anyone else, and that she was more important to him than anyone had ever been in his life, but it scared him that he had no idea why.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the car come to a stop and Kate turned off the ignition. Turning in her seat, she finally looked back at him and they locked eyes.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked him.

Tearing his eyes away from her, he glanced out the window and felt his breath hitch at the building in front of him. "This is where I was going to have my father's funeral," he answered, "He died in Australia."

"I'm sorry," Kate told him. Something in her eyes said that she already knew what had happened with Christian Shephard. All of it.

"Why did you bring me here?" he questioned, more confused now than before.

"Because," she said as if it made total sense, "This is where you were going to have your father's funeral."

He couldn't do anything but stare at her, wondering where this was all going. What the hell was going on? When he didn't say anything, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. "You can go in around back," she said.

Why was she leaving? He didn't want her to. "Wait! Where are you going?"

She motioned as if it was obvious. "Inside," she smiled, "I'll be waiting for you there, once you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

Kate really could not wait for him to come with her. He was so close to letting himself remember everything, she could feel it. All he needed to do was stop being so damn stubborn.

"To leave."

With that, she got out of the car, let the door shut behind her and walked into the large, beautiful church. She knew Jack just needed a little bit of time, and she was willing to wait. She'd spent sixty years dreaming about what it would be like when she got to see him, the real him, again; what was a few more minutes? Entering the sanctuary brought a huge smile to her face. Everyone was there. _Everyone_. Her family was finally all together again, and this time they didn't have to worry about anything. Finally, they could just be together without anything trying to keep them apart.

What seemed like hours later, but really Kate supposed it was only about ten minutes, Jack came in through a small door near the front of the room followed by his dad. She watched as the other survivors greeted him enthusiastically, and he hugged them back just as happy to see them. He had finally remembered. After everyone he greeted, he scanned the room and Kate knew he was looking for her. Words couldn't describe how happy she felt that he had missed her just as much as she had missed him all this time.

She walked closer to him and took his hand, clasping it tightly as if he would disappear if she let go. He turned to face her and gathered her in his arms, holding her as close to him as possible. Tears fell down both their faces as they reunited. "Kate," he sobbed into her hair.

Kate clung to him and buried her face in his chest. "Jack, I love you _so much_," she cried, "You don't even know how much I've missed you. I love you."

He stroked her long curly hair as they rocked slightly back and forth, "I love you, too, Kate. I'm so sorry. I'm here now, it's okay."

They broke apart, but only far enough so they could look at each other.

"How long?" Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kate closed her eyes. "Sixty years," she answered, "And there was never anyone else. No one could measure up to you, and I knew anyway...I couldn't give my heart to another man because it already belonged to you. It always did."

Jack felt a tear escape his eye but he didn't care. All he cared about was standing in front of him, and she had waited far too long for this, for him. His heart felt like it could explode as they each leaned in and he captured her lips with his. One kiss to express every pent up emotion, every word they had never said to each other, everything they wished they could take back, and every moment spent wanting something that had been out of reach until this moment. Together they were whole again.

Now they could move on and know that no matter where they were going, they would never be apart again.


	3. Haunted

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Something's gone terribly wrong, you're all I wanted_

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Can't breathe whenever you're gone_

_Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

"_**Haunted" - Taylor Swift**_

The large, empty house was silent and covered in darkness. It had been ever since they got back and Claire had moved into an apartment with her mother and Aaron. Kate didn't see the point in ever turning the lights on. It wasn't like she had a reason to anyway. She was the only one there and no one ever came to visit.

She had sunk into depression and she knew it. She and Jack had broken up before they ever left for the island, but she had always known he was out there, and if she had really wanted to see or talk to him, she knew where to go. But now, after they had finally made up, he was gone. He was gone and he was never coming back.

The ache in her chest grew stronger with each passing day as she mourned the loss of the only man she knew she could ever really love. He was everything she had ever wanted, but they were both too stubborn to be the first to try and patch things up after they went so wrong. It took too much time and once again being trapped on the island where they met for her to finally work out what exactly made Jack do the things he did. She finally had him figured out and then she lost him.

She was convinced that she was beginning to go crazy now that she was completely by herself. Once, she thrived on isolation, but now it was suffocating. The signs she was losing her mind should have scared her, but she found that she wasn't afraid. She welcomed the moments when she could feel herself slipping, because they let her see Jack.

He would come at night mostly, when she was laying in their bed about to fall asleep. He would sit either in the chair in the corner or on the edge of the bed and they would talk. Sometimes he would hold her hand and stroke her hair to help her sleep. It never really mattered to her what they talked about, she just loved hearing his voice. What mattered what that they never fought.

It was to the point that Kate wouldn't let herself sleep until he'd visited because she needed to know that he was there watching over her. In her head she knew he wasn't really there and that it was ridiculous to believe he was, but her heart couldn't help it. Sometimes she thought about trying to make herself stop imagining him with her, but she almost always threw that notion out immediately. If spending time with the man she loved meant insanity, she would take it. She couldn't go back even if she'd wanted to; he would haunt her forever and she found that she didn't mind at all.


	4. Last Kiss

_So I'll go sit on the floor wearing your clothes_

_All that I know is I don't know how to be something you miss_

_Never thought we'd have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we'd end like this_

_Your name forever the name on my lips_

_Just like our last..._

"_**Last Kiss" - Taylor Swift**_

It had been three months since the six of them had finally left the island for good. Frank had disappeared without telling any of them where he was going, and Richard had decided to travel around the world for the rest of his life to see how it had changed. He dropped in from time to time, bringing trinkets from the most obscure countries imaginable. Miles and Sawyer had started some sort of paranormal investigation business; she wasn't really sure what was going on there, but they seemed to be doing well so she didn't really ask.

Then there was Claire. It had taken her a few weeks to re-adjust to the real world, but now she was completely fine on her own with Aaron. Kate had finally been able to reunite mother and son, even though it killed her to have to let go of the little boy she had grown to love so much. They had eventually phased Aaron into knowing Claire as "Mommy" instead of Kate, and the final step had been the two of them moving out into an apartment not far from Kate's now extremely empty house.

Once she was really on her own, the moment came when it really hit her that Jack was gone. _Gone_. Not just across town in his dump of an apartment that he'd been living in for the few weeks before they went back to that damn island. He wasn't at the hospital filling out paperwork or operating on someone. He was gone. Suddenly and irreplaceably gone. At least when they were broken up, she knew he was still there. She still had a shred of hope that somehow they could change things. He fixed her, and she fixed him, so together they could fix them.

But now...now she was completely alone. Jack couldn't do anything anymore because he was dead. Dead because he gave up everything for a chance to get Kate back to safety for good. She hoped he hadn't been in any pain. She hoped he had finally found a semblance of peace. Lastly, she hoped that wherever he was, he knew she loved and missed him more than she could ever express. She always wondered if he felt the same, but she didn't know how.

She had slipped into a deep depression and she knew it. She never went out, never answered her phone. It was a miracle if she opened her door for any of her friends. Every night she would usually end up in the middle of her bedroom floor in one of Jack's old Columbia Med hoodies, looking through photos from when they were together and totally happy. Before he let his doubt take over his entire life, before they both said things they would soon regret, before she lost him.

Kate just didn't know how to be without Jack. No one could ever compare to him or take his place. She would never find anyone else, she knew that. She'd already found her "one" and she'd had her time with him, however little it was. He was the only man she would love for the rest of her life. When he died, he took her heart with him.

Jack was her last.


End file.
